Zaldron the Sage
| upkeep_cost = | req = None | moves = | melee = | ranged = | defense = | resist = | hits = | item_slot_1 = | item_slot_2 = | item_slot_3 = | abilities = Sage Caster ( ) | random_abilities = None | extra_spells = * Counter Magic * Dispel Magic True }} :This article is about the Hero called "The Sage". For an ability of the same name, see Sage. Zaldron the Sage is one of the 35 Hero units featured in Master of Magic. Zaldron is a non-Champion Hero. He may randomly appear for hire, in which case his Hiring Cost is by default. Alternatively, Zaldron can be summoned using the Summon Hero spell (or through partial failure of the Summon Champion spell), and can occasionally be found as a Prisoner reward after a successful Encounter. Zaldron boasts a strong , but with virtually no capabilities. He also has a slight deficiency in his score compared to other mage-type Heroes. Zaldron's primary advantage is his ability to cast spells, for which he will pay from his own pool. In addition to any spell known to his employer, Zaldron may also cast the Counter Magic and Dispel Magic True spells - assuming he has sufficient to do so. Furthermore, Zaldron has the innate ability of Sage, which speeds up Spell Research. With these two abilities and a somewhat-lacking combat performance, Zaldron is often relegated to support duties - staying at your Fortress town to boost your Spell Skill and research speed. If possible, it is a good idea to have him join a few battles simply to gain some Experience, but as time goes on he become less useful for combat and more useful back at the Fortress. Zaldron may be equipped with the mage set of Magical Items, contributing primarily to the strength of his Ranged Attack and spell-casting abilities. The lack of armor, however, makes him more vulnerable to enemy attacks. Zaldron's Upkeep Cost is per turn. General Description Zaldron the Sage has spent most of his long life "buried" in ancient libraries, visiting universities and magical guilds, and acquiring an impressive breadth of knowledge that few other mages possess. He is well-versed in the theories behind the arcane arts, and has gained skills related both to the application of magic as well as the research of new spells to utilize magic in different ways. He is also a leading expert in methods used to prevent spells from working at all. Zaldron is now an old man, with a flowing grey beard. The top of his head is completely bald. He is dressed in blue robes, and rides a dark-grey horse. Initial Properties All data below assumes Zaldron is at his lowest Experience Level, and without any Magical Items or Random Abilities - After all, any Hero can become devastatingly powerful after gaining several levels and powerful items. Please refer to the tables and chapters below for more information. Attack Properties Zaldron the Sage's primary mode of attack is a of moderately-high strength. Zaldron also possesses an extremely weak , though this can eventually become useful after many Experience Levels have been acquired. Zaldron's Ranged Attack has a default strength of . Given a basic To Hit chance of , he can be expected to deliver about with this attack, on average. It is not too impressive an attack, but is sufficient to damage most enemy units to some degree. This Ranged Attack delivers Magical Damage. As a result, it does not suffer penalties when used at a distance. On the other hand, targets possessing Magic Immunity will almost invariably shrug off all damage from this attack. Furthermore, the attack is associated with the , and thus may not be blocked by spells like Resist Elements or Bless. Note that Zaldron's uses from his own personal pool as ammunition. Each attack reduces his remaining Mana by . When he has only or fewer left, he may not use his Ranged Attack anymore for the rest of the battle. Since this is the same that Zaldron uses to cast spells during combat, he must decide whether to use Ranged Attacks or cast spells depending on the situation on the battlefield. is restored to full capacity at the end of each battle. Zaldron's Melee Attack has an initial strength of only , a token attack that is highly unlikely to cause any damage. Given a basic To Hit chance of , it can be expected to deliver no more than on average, and thus will almost always be completely blocked by any kind of armor. Nonetheless, with sufficient Experience, it can actually become useful against soft targets. Defensive Properties By default, Zaldron the Sage has a rather-low Defense score of . This enables him to block, on average, about from any damage source. This is in no way impressive, and means that most enemy units can damage Zaldron. If he is to go into any battle, he definitely needs extra protection. Zaldron possesses a below-average by default. This means that it doesn't take a lot of damage to kill Zaldron, and puts him at danger whenever he is sent into battle. As with most Heroes, Zaldron possesses a default Resistance score of . This makes him somewhat vulnerable to Curses and other combat maledictions. It will take at least before he can become immune to some of these effects, assuming no Magical Items or Random Abilities augment it. Other Properties Zaldron the Sage has a basic Hero's Movement Allowance of . This is good for speeding up his movement on the overland map, through plain land tiles like Grassland and Deserts. During battle, Zaldron may need to use his speed to stay away from stronger enemies. Zaldron's Sage ability increases the speed of his employer's Spell Research. For each Zaldron possesses, his employer's current Research will advance by an extra every turn. This can eventually make all Research proceed very quickly, and can thus unlock advanced spells quite rapidly. It is particularly important for wizards who own many Spellbooks. Spellcasting Zaldron the Sage possesses the Caster ability by default, and initially has to spare (rounded down to ). This Mana pool increases with Experience. Zaldron may cast any combat spell known to his employer. In addition, regardless of whether they are available to the employer, Zaldron also has access to the Counter Magic and Dispel Magic True spells. Some spells, including these two, may be unavailable for casting until Zaldron can gain some Experience and increase his available . Note also that will draw from Zaldron's pool each time they are used. This will reduce the remaining Mana for spellcasting. Fortunately, is completely replenished at the end of each and every battle. To cast a spell with Zaldron during combat, you must select Zaldron, press the "Spell" button, and then select "Sage" from the pop-up list. If Zaldron is out of , out of Movement Points, has been killed or is otherwise incapacitated, his name will not appear on this list. Note that using Zaldron to cast spells does not reduce your own available Spell Skill or - he is completely independent and uses up his own skill and Mana. Finally, the Caster ability also allows Zaldron to augment your wizard's own Spell Skill. To perform this, place Zaldron in the same tile as your Fortress town. While he is inside this town, your Spell Skill is increased by half the value of Zaldron's Caster skill, rounded down. Experience The following table illustrates how Zaldron's various skills and attributes increase as he gains Experience. Attributes not appearing on this list do not improve with Experience. Average Damage Output The following table shows Zaldron's average output with each of his attacks, based on his current Experience Level. Note that this table completely ignores bonuses from Magical Items, if any. Improvement Overview As with any other Hero, Zaldron can eventually become very powerful as he gains Experience. Nonetheless, he is quite weak at the lower levels. With additional levels, Zaldron's Caster ability increases his available Mana by . This will allow him to perform several more in each battle (or cast more spells). This can turn him into a powerful ranged attacker or support hero. The Sage ability also improves with Experience. For each level, Zaldron gives an extra to his employer's Spell Research every turn. At high levels, Zaldron can ensure that new spells are researched very quickly - even the more complicated ones. This gives a very high incentive to send Zaldron into a few battles, in order to gain more Experience. Ability Overview Caster ( ) * This Hero may cast spells during combat, withdrawing from his/her own personal Mana Pool to do so. * The Hero may spend only per battle (rounded down to . This Mana Pool is reset at the end of each battle - assuming the Hero survives at all. * With each gained, this Hero receives a permanent bonus of . * Spellcasting takes up all of the Hero's remaining Movement Points for the turn. * While this Hero is inside his/her employer's Fortress town, the owner's Spell Skill is increased by half the value of the Hero's Caster ability. Sage * This Hero contributes to his employer's Research at the start of each turn, for each of the Hero's (including the first level). Random Abilities Zaldron the Sage has no Random Abilities. Therefore, his various attributes will be exactly the same each time you play the game. This makes Zaldron more predictable. He will never be any less or more useful than this article describes. Equipment Zaldron the Sage has the following item slots: This set-up is unique to mage-type Heroes, and allows them to significantly boost their magical abilities. The Jewelry pieces can be used to augment defensive properties instead (in order to increase Zaldron's survivability), but might also combine offensive and defensive capabilities to make a well-rounded Hero. Recommended Items The mage set-up doesn't leave much choice in terms of items, as it will strictly increase Zaldron's magical prowess. However there are several possible outcomes from mixing and matching various bonuses. Since Zaldron is often used as a support hero, bonuses are probably best for him. If he is sent into combat to gain Experience, and bonuses are of paramount importance for keeping him alive. Weapon :With a Staff Slot, Zaldron is limited to using either a Staff or a Wand (with Staves often being stronger). :If Zaldron is going into combat in order to gain some Experience or assist the troops, it is generally better to go for a Staff with some and/or bonuses. Zaldron is very fragile by default, so the last thing you want is to lose him to some enemy Ranged Attack. :Attack and bonuses will improve Zaldron's mediocre - but do not expect these to become too powerful. Remember that this Hero is not really built for combat, and again may easily be killed if the enemy possesses any powerful spells or Ranged Attack troops. :If Zaldron is left in your Fortress in order to boost your own Spell Skill and Research, you'll want to focus on getting a weapon providing bonuses. This increases Zaldron's Caster skill, and in turn gives you more Spell Skill as long as he remains inside your Fortress. Jewelry :Zaldron can wear up to two pieces of Jewelry. Again, depending on how you intend to use Zaldron, different bonuses will come in handy. :If Zaldron goes into combat, it is imperative to boost his and/or scores to keep him from being killed off. Though this means his attack and combat-spellcasting won't be very strong, keeping him alive is much more important. :Once Zaldron has gained plenty of experience, you'll want to keep him at your Fortress, assisting with Research and augmenting your own Spell Skill. Jewelry can help greatly here, by giving a massive bonus to Zaldron's pool, and thereby increasing your own Spell Skill by a significant amount. :You can safely ignore penalties and possibly even Movement Allowance penalties - while they might come in handy, they are not nearly as useful as the bonuses described above. Acquisition Zaldron the Sage can be acquired in one of four different methods: * By hiring him as he comes to visit your Fortress town, * By casting the Summon Hero or Summon Champion spells, * By rescuing him from an Encounter zone, * By Resurrecting him after he has been killed in battle. Hiring Zaldron Every once in a while, a Hero will arrive at your Fortress town to ask for employment. The frequency of this event depends on your current score, the number of Heroes already under your employ, and whether or not you have particular Retorts that affect this chance. In order for Zaldron to appear for hire in this way, you must meet several requirements: # You must have sufficient in your treasury to hire Zaldron (more on this below). # Zaldron must not have already been killed in battle. Note that '''Zaldron' does not care about your wizard's score - he is not picky about whom he serves.'' Since the game randomly chooses which Hero appears during this event, there's no guarantee that Zaldron will ever appear. The chance, however, increases if the number of other valid Heroes dwindles (such as when most other Heroes have died in battle). The default Hiring Cost for Zaldron is . This is reduced to if your wizard has the Charismatic Retort. If you do not have this much at the start of a turn (after paying all Upkeep Costs), Zaldron will not appear for hire. In fact, if he is picked as the Hero who approaches you, and you lack the money to hire him, you are effectively forfeiting your chance to hire any Hero this turn. After agreeing to hire Zaldron (you can always refuse), you may give him any name you choose - he will be known as " the Sage". His overland unit will appear at your Fortress town or, if that town's garrison is full, next to your Fortress town. Summoning Zaldron As a non-Champion hero, Zaldron the Sage can be summoned using either the Summon Hero or Summon Champion spells. However, Summon Champion only has a chance to bring Zaldron to you if all Champions are unavailable at the time. Once the spell is completed, the game chooses a random Hero to bring to your Fortress from a list of all available and valid Heroes. Therefore, there is no guarantee that Zaldron will appear when these spells are cast, unless all other Heroes are unavailable. Again, you get a chance to agree or refuse to hire Zaldron. If you agree, he will appear in your Fortress town and/or next to it. If Zaldron is hired through the use of Summon Hero or Summon Champion, there is no need to pay any Hiring Cost. However, you may still need to pay an Upkeep Cost (see below). Rescuing Zaldron On defeating an Encounter of at least moderate difficulty, there is a small chance that your reward will include a Prisoner previously held captive in this Encounter zone. The game can randomly pick any non-Champion Hero to be rescued in this way - except Heroes that have already died while in your service. Your and are disregarded, and there is no need to pay any Hiring Costs. Note that if the army that beats that particular Encounter already contains 9 units, you will never be rewarded with a Prisoner. Resurrecting Zaldron For most wizards, losing Zaldron in battle removes him from the game permanently. He will never appear again. For -wielding wizards, however, who have access to the Resurrection spell, it is possible to bring Zaldron back to life after he has died. In this case, Zaldron returns to your Fortress town, with no Magical Items, but keeping all Experience he had prior to his death. You may repeatedly resurrect Zaldron each time he dies. Upkeep Costs Once Zaldron is in your employ, you must pay him an Upkeep Cost of at the start of each and every turn. Failure to pay this price due to lack of results in Zaldron leaving your employ. This is not permanent however: Zaldron may still be acquired in any of the above methods with no penalty. Alternate Names Other wizards can also have a Sage, but they are different characters (what happens to one has no effect on the others), and go by different names, as follows: Category:Units Category:Heroes Category:Non-Champions